Appomattox Court House * Tour the Village
The Apple Tree site is where General Lee waited, resting on fence rails with a blanket laid over them, to hear Grant’s reply to his request for an interview to surrender his army. Grant was riding hard to reach Appomattox along with his pursuing troops – he rode 22 miles that day – and there was some uncertainty over whether the message would reach him and if the fighting would continue. But Grant got the message. He sent two staff officers, Colonel Orville Babcock and Captain William McKee Dunn, to ride ahead. They met with Lee under the apple tree at this site, telling him of Grant’s willingness to talk. One legend that grew out of this meeting was that Grant himself met with Lee under the apple tree to accept the surrender, a great example of how stories grow out of a mixture of facts and misinformation. The tree itself was completely consumed, down to the roots, as souvenirs for Union soldiers.
From the marker:
Near this spot stood the
apple tree under which General
Robert E. Lee rested while awaiting
the return of a flag of truce
sent by him to General U.S. Grant
on the morning of April 9, 1865.
Location
The Apple Tree sign is on the south side of Virginia Route 24 northeast of the village of Appomattox Court House. It is about a mile from where the driveway to the Visitor Center intersects Route 24. (37°23’02.2″N 78°47’19.1″W)